South Philly man gets 5 to 10 years in gun straw purchase case

A man convicted of buying three handguns through a straw purchaser in January was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison by Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Edward Wright on Friday.

According to District Attorney Seth Williams, Mysheer Pryor, 21, of South Philadelphia, was sentenced following his Jan. 14 conviction on charges related to buying three handguns through a straw purchaser in March and April of 2013.

Pryor was one of the first defendants charged in Pennsylvania under the statute commonly referred to as the "Brad Fox Law," which was enacted in January 2013 and named for Plymouth Township Police Officer Brad Fox, who was gunned down during a foot pursuit of a suspect in 2012. It was established to restore a five-year mandatory minimum-sentence for defendants who repeatedly purchase firearms for people not legally allowed to own or possess them.

At the time of his arrest for the straw purchase, Pryor’s only prior conviction was a misdemeanor offense for drug possession. He’s been in custody since his June 3, 2013 arrest for the straw purchases and will get credit for time served.

“All too often we hear about gun violence in our neighborhoods — there is too much of it—and some guns get in the wrong handsbecause ofstraw purchases,” District Attorney Seth Williams said.

“Today's sentence is a good sentence and we hope it sends a clear message that you cannot have someone buy you a gun if you are not legally permitted to have one.”